annzeepark914

The person who said "ging-ale" was my dad's sister-in-law whose family name was Bailey--I think they were from a little town called Bailey, not far from Richmond. Her great uncle was John Mosby. She had a very soft, southern accent, spoke slowly. We New Yorkers loved listening to her. When we visited her (in CT where they lived) she always served baked Virginia ham. Back to the soda/pop/whatever topic: in New York State they still argue about where the "line" is that divides downstate from upstate and some say it's where New Yorkers say soda and some say pop. I think this debate has been going on for decades (probably similar to NC's debate over eastern bbq and western bbq--I love eastern!!) My pet peeve of the day: all these hackers. I happened to have had the volume turned up today and all of a sudden this voice came on yelling about a virus I probably had & how I had to call Windows, provided me an 800 number, went on and on. We have Norton so I wasn't too nervous...but still! Wish I could track down these creeps and have them thrown in prison.

What the heck is going on w/ WF seafood counter? Their shrimp used to be delicious.

Wow! I just watched that old video of Natalia and Artur at '92 Worlds. And while I was glued to my screen, watching pairs perfection, I kept thinking, "This is why I loved pairs back in the day". I rarely watch it today as pairs is so empty of beauty and all those gorgeous in-betweens. That final death spiral was just breathtaking. It's too bad there isn't a really good video of this LP. I didn't watch the gala at Worlds last week. But the camera work sounds just like it was during competition--wretched. I really think it was the worst camera work covering competitive skating that I've ever seen (close-ups of faces, close-ups of skates, and across the length of the rink coverage of intricate lifts or jumps when I felt like I needed binoculars). ABC always had great camera work no matter where the competition was held (at least what I remember of those programs).

You're right! Maybe I forgot because she didn't win the gold medal at Worlds on top of her Olympic gold. Back in the day of Kristi and before her, it seemed so natural for O winners to repeat at Worlds.

Just like V/M and many others (and previously, like Tara Lipinski, et al). I think the last Ladies OGM who went on to Worlds was Kristi Yamaguchi. Was 1992 the last time all the Olympic Gold Medalists went on to Worlds?

Hah! Rotisserie chicken from Harris Teeter tonight + doctored up Stove Top Stuffing + doctored up Roasted Turkey Gravy out of a jar ;>) + some green peas. The Loyola/Michigan game started early (for my kitchen!) so that's what was served. I say...Go Loyola (as a small college grad) but Mr. P914 is a MI grad. Hope the nun prayed really hard today, heh heh.

I remember when I first moved to NC and mentioned going to the soda machine to get a drink, one of the southerners in the room said, "We call it the coke machine". And she didn't mean "Coca Cola". Just coke machine as an overall term for soda machine. I loved how southerners would say, "co-cola" and "ging-ale" (the latter up in Richmond!).

My mother was the director of volunteers in a large city hospital back in the 60's and 70's so she saw a lot of this OTT visiting in the patients' rooms. The patients were worn out as they felt obligated to be a part of the socializing when they should've been resting and recuperating. The cookies are samoas (but I do love somosas!). Confession: I once microwaved leftover grilled fish at work (had no idea that was a bad thing to do--never did it before). I ate the fish & then left to run some errands. When I returned--oy vey! My co-workers never let me forget what I did (even though I apologized profusely). They actually were nice and fun people. I think they enjoyed teasing me about my big mistake (they especially loved reminding me that I left the office after committing such a crime!!)

@ParadoxLost: Be careful about posting bad reviews about a company. A woman in Northern Virginia was sued by her contractor (he says because he lost business thanks to her bad review on, I think, Yelp). I didn't follow the case (there wasn't much in the papers about it anyway) but I think they settled and she had to pay him something. Whatever the result, it made me careful about posting reviews. She must've really slammed him for doing a bad job.

No more Lance-scaping. What a piece of work he is. I always laugh when they show him throwing an ax through that window (at least I think it's an ax).

We adopted a 7 yr old black & white cat last October. She weighs 14 lbs (not fat--she's a big-boned cat w/ huge paws) and had been in the shelter for 3 months. I guess no one wanted such a big cat (complete with long fur). I love picking her up (oof!!) and hugging that big ol' girl (who smells like cocoa). She's brought us lots of laughter (which was needed as we had to put down our 20 yr old cat a year ago). Cats are truly a piece of work. OK here's a pet peeve of mine: all the ads on TV channels are synchronized. I guess they figured out, several years ago, what we viewers were doing: switching channels, hunting for a program that wasn't being interrupted by commercials.

I was going to mention something else in my earlier post but couldn't think of the word: pergola! Was it my imagination or did they tear that wooden thing down with the ceiling fan still circulating? Wouldn't that mean there was power connected to the fan?

I wonder how loud it is in that restaurant? There was nothing to absorb all the noise - just all metal and tiles.

Are you all referring to the staring at each other/chatting that V/M did when approaching center ice? They started that ridiculous trend and it has always bugged me when the other skaters copied them. Just skate to center ice, please. I can well imagine there was bad blood between V/M and D/W back in their training together days. Wonder if that's going to happen now between H/D and P/C up in Montreal?

Good grief! There sure are some sad people on this planet.

People are always shocked when I've said not all the food in France is wonderful. But there definitely is some great food there as well. We were just saying yesterday how all the people we encountered in France, including Paris, were nice (or decent) to us (and we were prepared for the famous rudeness to tourists). Someone said (I can't remember who) that a French chamber of commerce-type agency got on the case of Parisians and told them to be nice to tourists (if they wanted the money to keep coming in--their bad rep was beginning to have an impact on tourism). Thanks for the info' on Poilane Bakery. That's something else I was just thinking of (we're contemplating a return to Paris). And this time I'm determined to get to Ina's favorite bistro as well. One meal I'm def having is roast chicken and mashed potatoes. The last night we were there we ate at Cafe Therese (in the 7th, not far from the Eiffel Tower) and that's what my husband ordered. I remember thinking, "Oh how boring" before I took a bite. Wish I'd ordered it too because that was the best chicken and mashed potatoes I've ever tasted in my life. It was like Julia Child's reaction to the fish she ordered after arriving in France in 1948. They were driving through the countryside on their way to Paris and stopped at a small cafe. Such a simple meal and yet so memorable. Back to Cook Like A Pro: I love Ina but this new show isn't pulling me in. Guess I was spoiled by her original shows (I'm one of the fans who loved the storylines, friends popping in, setting the table, flower arranging--the whole enchilada!). I thought the new show was going to give me advanced cooking tips from the pro's (well, there was the odd lesson from Jose re: separating yolks from eggwhites).

While watching Chock/Bates skate their FD today, I was wondering what would've been if Evan had stayed with Emily. It's been a while but I seem to recall their skating together looked so much better. They were closer in height and she was as good a skater as he. Or am I totally crazy for thinking this? @ChicksDigScars: Funny! You're right. Hubbell's smiles do look like sneers. And sweeks is right about the V/M baby bloggers possibly glomming onto H/D (after all--that steamy, hot skating must mean something's going on, right?)

This is my favorite show on TV now. It's peaceful, they're such nice people and very creative, especially when they're given small budgets (some of those "camps" are in pretty bad shape!)

I tried Mod Pizza a week ago and it was quite good. Being from NY, I'm a real PITA when it comes to pizza (and even up there, it's hard to find the great ones nowadays) so I've learned to look for pizzas with a thin crust, good sauce (not sour--needs to be a little sweet) and good cheese (not that faux puffy stuff that Domino's uses). I like my pizza "regular" or w/ a little pepperoni on it. Wegman's has a frozen pizza (I think it's their "Tuscany" style) that is ok. When we were in San Diego a few years ago, we went to Project Pie?? can't remember the name...and their pizzas were good.

Love Weird Al and his polka tunes. Oh skate gods...by season 2020, we're gonna need some humor-on-ice. Bring on those energetic polkas! Forgot to ask: are Hawayek/Baker also coached by Camerlengo? Whenever I see a beautiful program, the skaters always end up in the K&C with him by their side.

I just had a funny thought. Wouldn't it be great to see the top two WC teams having to skate to bouncy folk music in the future? I mean, to go from all their face clutching drama to wearing dirndles & lederhosen, skating to some old European country tunes--that would really challenge these two teams (in addition to amusing me). At least Weaver/Poje are on the podium.

The FD has been really good so far. Loved those shoot the duck twizzles from Stepanov/Bukin...wow! Just wish they'd used a nonvocal version of Liebestraum. Good luck, C/L!!!! Uh...edited to mention the atrocious camera work.

Thank God it's not just me. I feel so guilty about this (and worried that hoping for a slip up--and off the podium! will bring bad karma to one of my favorite skaters). I haven't really so disliked a skater(s) since Tonya H (altho' Scott M. really tested me). Americans are going to be stuck with these two prima donnas for a long time, unfortunately.

ENERO: I can't believe you said that. I almost thought I was imagining it. But that's what I, too, saw from the side of her face as she was chatting with that guy. It def was a smirk or a relaxed smile which most coaches certainly would not have on their faces after a devastating program like Alina's. Once again...I hope Alina or her parents noticed these things and will get her away from this creep.

Forumfish: I know what you're referring to re: that awful metallic aftertaste from the macaroni salad. That's the preservative. The only supermarket that sells macaroni salad w/o that awful taste is Harris Teeter. Don't know if there's a Harris Teeter in your area as it's a NC based supermarket, and now it's here in Northern VA. You're really lucky if you can find a good source for potato salad and macaroni salad, already made in a store (and w/out that burny, metallic taste!)